Wanted: parents and teenagers to talk about family life

The Children’s Society are in the early stages of setting up a new research project on family life with teenagers and want to interview parents who have a teenager in their family.

Original photo courtesy Children's Society

Gill Ford, Relationship Manager for Salisbury and Bristol for the Children’s Society explains:

"We are starting this programme of research on family life with teenagers and want to consider the challenges and concerns for parents, as well as the views of young people.

"Phil Rawes, Senior Researcher (who, if you recall, spoke at last year’s Synod), would like to interview parents who have a teenager in their family aged 16-18 about what it's like bringing up an adolescent. And - with mutual agreement - to also interview their son/ daughter separately about their experiences of being brought up!"

While the project will be a national one, the team want to start locally here in this Diocese:

"Phil lives in Dorset,so we are hoping to begin the process of recruiting teenagers and parents within the Salisbury Diocese, so that organising interviews doesn't involve an excessive amount of travel."

In a leaflet explaining the project to parents the Children's Society say:

"There’s no manual for family life with teenagers. We’re keen to find out what it’s like – to know more about teenagers’ experiences of growing up at home, and parents’ experiences of bringing up teenaged children.

"We want to talk to young people (aged 16+) and their parents about what it’s like in a family where there are teenagers.

"We will ask about things like - how much choice teenagers are given and how this is decided; what parents worry about when their children are teenagers; what teenagers find frustrating about their parents; and what parents find frustrating about their teenagers, and whether things change as a young person becomes older.

The leaflet explains that Phil aims to interview young people and parents separately, interviews will be like conversations and "You won’t have to answer questions you don’t want".